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a famous book on his hero, and the Professor had actually discovered that many of Hamlet's sayings were previously written by Bruno. This discovery made quite a stir in London at the time when he was giving lectures there, so he told us. Now the Signora S. allowed her husband his say buy finally, getting her innings she gave us a graphic and terrible picture of the tortures inflicted on that great man before he died. When the 'all clear' sounded, it was with relief that N. and I regained our rooms.
January 19th. There is much difference of opinion concerning yesterday's attacks. Those sympathysing with the Allies are all for excusing this incursion into Florence as a mistake on the part of aviators. Others are indignant and speak of bombs falling in the Cascine and on a group of people assembled in a field where they had built a fire to keep themselves warm. All agree however that the lights were sent down to illuminate all Florence and not as we first supposed solely to light up our hill.
Our neighbor, N.'s friend for life, had been somewhat sarcastic about my building a refuge, since Florence is now considered 'città aperta'; but when the lights from the aeroplanes came down over her house this lady took to flight and with her family joined the peasants in the fields; not a wise thing to do for when a bomb bursts the air pressure is tremendous even at a long distance away. The walls of my